


The Insanity Chamber // Thasmin

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Nightmares, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24130405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The Doctor and her companions just want a normal day out, but the TARDIS presents a few issues.
Relationships: Grace O'Brien/Graham O'Brien, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

Yaz's POV

I pulled on my jacket as I walked into the amber glowing console room to meet the others. I came face to face with the usual debate, "I could take you to see the marriage of Empress Koliva and Emperor Tankei in the year 7885, they spurred the start of the Trichean revolution causing birth of The New Empire, or something in the past like..." 

The Doctor was leaning over the console, lights glowing in her brown eyes, she stopped to think and looked up at me, "Oh hiya yaz!" She called with a smile, "We were just deciding what to do today."

"I still don't get why we can't just take a break for once" Graham muttered eliciting a gentle punch out of ryan to the arm. 

"You mentioned going to the past?" I asked, walking towards the others, the doctor turned around to face me and I felt ripples of butterflies rush through my stomach, I quickly pushed all my stupid thoughts to the back of my mind, smiling at me with gentle eyes, "How about visiting Mozart! I helped him compose his 40th Symphony... I think"

"Sounds good!" I laughed as the doctor ran around the console flicking switches and typing on the typewriter frantically, I walked round the remainder of the console to join Ryan and Graham who were stood closer to the door, "Grace used to like some of that classical music, never could wrap my head around it though." Graham said with a smile but in his eyes grief reflected deeply, "Guess it's your chance to try again now" Ryan replied.

"Okay I think we're ready fam!" Called the doctor "Let's... GO!" she laughed, spinning the hourglass, the engines of the TARDIS started to whirr and hum, the floor started to shake and all 4 of us held on to the nearest solid object.

Suddenly, with a defeated whirr everything shut down, the room faded to black and the red emergency lighting booted up and flashed slowly in and out of existence, "What?" The doctor whispered to herself racking her brains and biting her lip, "Lets go?" She repeated pulling down another lever and spinning the hourglass once again. This time the TARDIS only whined a high pitch drone then fizzled out of existence for the second time. "Oh this really can't be good" The doctor moaned quietly to herself, frantically flipping switches, "No, no, no!" She slammed her hand onto the console.

"Is everything alright Doc?" Graham asked walking cautiously towards the doctor, "You seem, frustrated?" He added choosing his words carefully.

She sighed and brushed her hair out of her face, "No not really, this doesn't seem good does it?" She said staring up at the red glowing lights. 

"I... uh... wouldn't know" he replies.

"I'm sorry guys I should probably fix this, it might take a while" She said with disappointed eyes looking down at her hands.

"Its okay!" I said, "Anything we can do to help?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor starts to formulate a plan in order to get the TARDIS up and running once again.

Doctor's POV

"It's okay!" She said with the cutest smile, "Anything we can do to help?" Yaz's long black hair cascaded down her face and her eyes sparkled in the red flashing lights. She walked towards me, Ryan following her. I struggled with all my might to push my stupid thoughts to the back of my mind.

"Um... oh, yeah!" I said, quickly snapping back to reality, "Graham, Ryan keep these levers down with all your strength, Yaz take this wire and loop it round to the other side of the console" I pulled a black wire from a panel under the floor and handed it to her, "There should be a red input port to put it in, hold it in there while I try and reset the monitors."

I pressed down some of the reconfiguration buttons and pulled one of the monitors towards me, "Ugh! Still not used to these new systems" I rolled my eyes and twisted another switch when sparks flew out of the one of the keyboards, I quickly jumped back and walked round to the other monitor.

"Are you sure you know what your doing Doc?" Graham muttered, I could hear the strain in his voice as he tried to keep the lever in place.

"Nope," I whispered to myself, "shouldn't be long now Graham!" I called, "Good job Yaz, keep it up you lot!" After a few more attempts I finally found the right combination of buttons to get the the basic functions of the console up, "You can let go now everyone."

"What did that do?" Ryan inquired rubbing his wrists.

"I re-routed some of the emergency power into the console, a few basic functions should be up and running, but it probably won't last long so we had better act fast." I said pacing up and down running hundreds of plans through my mind, dismissing them one by one, I went round to the first monitor and scanned it with my sonic, suddenly thousands of readings appeared at once.

"What does it say?" Yaz said looking over my shoulder, her arms pressing on to mine, she was very close to me, I could hear her delicate breath and my own heart beating in my throat and ears, I could feel myself blush as I tried to decipher the screen.

"I- I don't... know" I let out with a sigh, "Some sort of warning but it's a language I barely recognise."  
"It's okay, we can figure it out," She added softly "together." She always seemed to be so positive even at the worst of times, her smile was practically infectious, I looked down at her lips as she spoke and once again quickly pushed all my feelings to the back of my mind and listened to what she had to say next, "Can't we go and find the cause of the problem?"

"Ah! Brilliant 20 points to Yaz! Why didn't I think of that?" I started to pace up and down again, "Now, the emergency power is still running to it isn't a total shutdown, but none of the other functions are up so it must be something to do with the engines, maybe they have been damaged or something, whatever it is it's probably dangerous so we need to stick together!" I rambled on thinking of all the possibilities and dangers, all the routes and plans and ways to fix this, in all of the commotion I didn't realise I had grabbed Yaz's hand and started to run until it was too late. I looked down at her hand locked in mine and started to blush, after turning left and right and left again I stopped and pulled my hand away pretending to use my sonic on a door. I looked at Yaz, worried I'd upset her but she looked as happy and as pretty as ever.

"Doc! Wait! Where are we going?" Graham said trying to keep up, panting and running, holding his sides, closely followed by Ryan.

"Oh yeah, sorry, a lot going on up here all at once." I said tapping my head with my sonic screwdriver and pulling a goofy face, "We need to get to the engine rooms to see if everything is okay. Something is upsetting her, and I just can't figure it out." I added as I placed one of my hands on the wall to comfort the TARDIS. I heard clangs ring out and echo through the walls as I removed my hand as if the TARDIS was crying out in pain, "this really isn't good" those 4 words in my head echoing over and over again.


	3. Chapter 3

Yasmin's POV

I looked down at my hand, butterflies rushed through my stomach and throat, this wasn't the first time she had held it so it probably didn't mean anything, but the more I tried to ignore my feelings the more an annoying voice in my head persisted there was something more to it. The Doctor was talking to Graham and Ryan but I was so lost in the labyrinth of my own thoughts, everything around me was muffled. 

"Yas?" Graham was looking over at me, concerned, "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine" I smiled slowly joining the group.

"Okay, stay close gang, it won't be safe if we get seperated, I think the reality projector is damaged so the interior of the TARDIS is constantly falling apart and putting herself back together again in a completely random formation, even I don't know the way anymore, lets go!" She said with a sparkling smile.

This time she started running without taking my hand and a guilty disappointment washed over me, we ran for a while round corners and through doors. Corridors of different lengths and heights, some were made of cold metal with blue decorations and gallifreyan language intricately running down the ceilings, some the floors were made of warm stones and boulders, vines and plants lining the walls. Soon we returned to the standard grey walls and floors with amber lights. We were moving quicker and quicker as the Doctor grew more and more anxious about the TARDIS's condition. 

We had been running for ages when suddenly a pain shot through my ankle and I stumbled to a halt. I bent down to rub it and called out "Guys! One sec!" I looked up but no one was around. "What the hell?" I whispered to myself, it was like they had vanished into thin air, "Guys? Doctor? Ryan?" I called out, "Graham? Is anyone there?" I walked quickly down the corridor and cautiously went through a door, I came to a junction like turning, how was I meant to decide which way to go? I felt a wave of panic wash through my chest as I called out again, "Doctor?" I could hear the shaking in my own voice and the panic in my chest started to grow. 

"Right" I told myself, "Stay calm and stay put, they must have noticed I'm not with them and be on their way to come and find me now." I turned around to go back the way I came. The panic in me suddenly intensified when I discovered the door turned into a solid wall. I slowly walked towards it and carefully placed my hand on it, I knocked and searched for a way to get through but it seemed like a solid wall. "Okay, deep breaths stay calm." I walked back towards the turning but starred defeatedly at another solid wall only an arms width apart from where the door used to be. 

I sighed defeatedly and turned around once again, in the small stretch of wall between where the door used to be and the turning used to be, a door had appeared. I know I should have stayed put but I didn't want to be trapped in a tiny cube of metal so against every ounce of my better judgement and every voice in my head telling me to wait I quickly pressed the blue button and entered into the next room before the door had even finished hissing open.

As I stepped into the dark room a blast of chilly air engulfed me, I pulled my jacket around my sides as far as possible and shield me from the sharp icy breeze bruising my skin. "This can't be good" I whispered, the room was almost pitch black and seemed to go on forever, I turned around to leave but the door had already clanged shut. There was a slither of light protruding from under the door so I decided to stay close, I knew no one would hear me but in a wave of anxiety and panic I started to bang loudly on the door shouting for someone to rescue me. I didn't stop until my hands and knuckles were aching and sore. I turned around to face the room and told myself to man up.

Still clutching at my jacket for warmth, I slowly edged forwards into the darkness calling out incase anyone could hear me. It was blurry at first but slowly what seemed to be the control room faded into existence, I was stood by the doors and a blonde figure was on the other side of the console. I didn't feel the usual warmth and safety of the TARDIS but instead an uneasy atmosphere hung low in the air.

"Doctor?" I called out, walking slowly towards her, "Oh Doctor! I'm so glad I found you." She didn't say or do anything, in fact she was standing as still as statue, staring straight ahead. "Doctor? Is that you?" I said slowly, confused.


	4. Chapter 4

Doctor's POV  
My legs and lungs were burning, but I couldn't risk the TARDIS being damaged more than she already was, with every moan and creak of the engine cooling it seemed like she was crying out in pain, screaming. I spoke to her in my mind, concentrating hard, telling her to keep holding on. My mind was so full of thoughts, fear and wonder, I'd forgotten something.   
What though? What have I forgotten. There's something, at the back of my mind bugging me, tugging on my conscience, what the hell is it?

I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart plummeted. Oh god, please don't let me be right, I'm always right, well almost always right, there was that one time on the planet of Terbras and I was playing Terbran Poker with one of the the war generals and... I'm rambling to distract myself.

"You alright Doc?" I heard Graham ask. He sounded distant and muffled, like he was speaking from behind a glass partition. My mind was too full to listen right now. When we were running, my ears were full of the cries of the engines, I wasn't concentrating on the most important thing. Angry with myself I tugged on my fringe.

"4." I whispered to myself, "4 pairs of feet, I only heard 3."  
"Doc?" Graham repeated.  
I slowly turned round, begging myself to be wrong. I wasn't. Ryan had his hand on the wall supporting himself, hunched over and panting for breath, Graham was standing next to me looking extremely concerned, panicked almost, and yaz. Yaz was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh God Yaz." I whispered.   
"We we're trying to tell you Doctor but you were stuck in your own mind or something, completely zoned out, you didn't hear us." Ryan said finally catching his breath, looking at me guiltily.  
"Like Ryan when he's wearing those headphones." Graham added.

I had zoned out so far I hadn't realised I'd lost my best friend and with the TARDIS constantly shifting and changing, she could be anywhere, it could be dangerous, what if something happens? What if she gets hurt? What if we loose her forever?  
"W-w-well we need to go back." I stuttered, panicking. "Quickly come on." I set off running again. Quicker than before, "oh God Yaz I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry, please don't be lost." I whispered over and over to myself, I know there's no such thing as God but it's nice to imagine sometimes that there's a big old man sat on a cloud making sure everyone is okay, he seems to always be ignoring me for some reason though.

"What the hell!" I almost shouted, frustrated beyond words, "I swear this is the way we just came!" I stared at the wall in front of me. It had just appeared out of no where. I realised after we came through the TARDIS had turned the door into a solid wall, how was I meant to get back to Yaz now?

"Doc, don't worry, just stay calm yeah? That's what you always say, Yaz is smart, she can keep herself safe until we find her. For now let's look for another way to get to her, or we could fix the TARDIS first, it's your choice."

I awkwardly hopped from one foot to the other, weighing up choices and facts and decisions in my mind, what do I do? I groaned at myself and rolled my eyes, I'm being so stupid and selfish. My panic has really got the best of me, "lets go get Yaz, I don't know what I was thinking, I should always priorities my fam! Come on." I slowly trudged off to find a new path, making sure I was keeping count of footsteps.

***

"Doc are you sure this is the right way?" Graham asked for the millionth time. "Of course." I lied with a fake smile, to be honest I had no idea where we were, we could have been walking round in circles for the past hour and I would have been none the wiser, to be honest that's probably what was happening.

We stopped to rest, we must have walked miles round the same passage of identical corridors, it was getting more and more frustrating and claustrophobic with every step. I sat down on the floor, back to the wall and hugged my knees to my chest. I shut my eyes and rested my head back against the cold metal wall. "Yaz, if you can hear me, stay safe, we're looking for you, I'm truly sorry I really am." I concentrated the hardest I'd concentrated in years, trying to send a message through the walls of the TARDIS to reach her subconscious.

My head was pounding and throat was burning, I felt like a stupid emotional wreck, I rested my head down onto my arms so I was sat curled up in a ball. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek.  
A soft clanging noise echoed through the walls, I couldn't tell if the TARDIS was trying to comfort me or crying with me. "Are you guys okay?" I said looking up, surreptitiously wiping away the tear, my voice was barely a whisper, I was too distraught to make a more enthusiastic attempt.  
"Yeah." Ryan whispered back, he was say on the floor opposite me, Graham stood by his side, looking at me with the same concern as earlier.  
"I'm alright too." He said, I could tell they were both lying to try and cheer me up, I smiled sadly and nodded. I felt really bad for both of them, they must be feeling guilty as well.

I shut my eyes and shook my head, they can't see me like this it isn't fair, especially if our friend is missing. I jumped up, every ounce of me was dragging down, begging me to just curl up in a ball on the ground, I used all my energy to fake my usual gusto and said with a smile, "let's go find our friend."

We set of running for the 4th time now, every inch of me was tired and aching, the TARDIS was practically screaming in pain, my heart was beating in my ears and footsteps echoed all around me, footsteps, footsteps, footsteps, footsteps, I couldn't count. I wanted to scream at the world to just shut up for once.

Suddenly everything went quiet, I was still awake, yes, still running, but the TARDIS had gone quiet, my heart had calmed down, I smiled a carried on running, counting the footsteps.   
"1,2,1,2." What? "1,2,1,2" I must be mistaken, I only counted pairs.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading :')


End file.
